Red Hill Fire Observation Station
Encyclopedia
The Red Hill Fire Observation Station consists of a fire lookout tower
, cabin
and pit privy
located on the summit of Red Hill, a 2990 feet (911.4 m) Catskill Mountain
peak in Denning
, New York
, United States
. It is the southernmost fire tower in the Catskill Park.
One of the last state towers built, in 1920, it filled a missing link in the Catskills' forest fire detection network. Except for a few brief periods of closure, observers
working for the state conservation agencies
manned the tower through 1990, making it the last fire tower closed in the Catskills. The abandoned tower and its views of the region remained a popular destination for local hikers
, and it was slated to be torn down in accordance with state policy prohibiting nonessential structures on Forest Preserve
land. Preservationists
and forest historians campaigned to save and restore
it and four other Catskill fire towers, and in the early 21st century they were listed on the National Register of Historic Places
(NRHP). Red Hill's observer's cabin, included as part of the listing, is one of the oldest such buildings in New York.
A short trail was constructed to provide access to hikers, since the road used by the observers was later closed by the private landowner. Hikers continue to climb the peak and tower for its views of the Catskill High Peaks
to the north.
into the exposed bedrock
, with a glazed steel cab on top reached by an eight-flight staircase. It is located in a grassy clearing
of roughly 500 square feet (46.5 m²), just east of the mountain's summit, along a narrow ridge. At the clearing's west end, the upper end of the trail and the mountain's true summit, is the rustic one-room cabin
where observers lived during their shifts in the tower. Just to its north is a small wooden privy
. Two picnic table
s are in the area between the cabin and the tower.
The cabin is a small, one-story, 14 by gable
-roofed frame building. It is sided with "brainstorm", edge board stained
reddish-brown. It has a mortared
rubblestone foundation
and a covered porch
on the south elevation, originally decked in wood but since replaced with concrete
. Built in 1931, it is one of the oldest remaining observer's cabins in New York, a rare intact example of the earlier style used by the then-state Conservation Commission.
The tower and cabin are old enough to be considered contributing resources
to the NRHP listing. The privy and picnic tables were added later for the convenience of hikers, and are not contributing.
in 1885 had been fire control
and prevention
. Illegal logging
operations often disposed of their remaining slash
by setting it on fire without remaining to make sure it burned out safely and sparks from the steam locomotive
s of the region's railroads also caused conflagrations.
In 1889 members of the Balsam Lake Club built the Catskills' first fire tower
on the summit of Balsam Lake Mountain
; twenty years later, after the fires two drought
-plagued summers had taken a heavy toll on the forests, the state's Forest, Fish and Game Commission (FFGC) took it over as part of a new strategy, proven successful in Maine
. of putting trained observers in strategically placed towers to spot the first traces of fire and report its location via dedicated telephone lines
. The state built its first tower
on Greene County
's highest peak, Hunter Mountain
later in 1909, and within a decade there were several others throughout the range and in the nearby Shawangunks
.
In 1919, the Conservation Commission, which the FFGC had become, found that there was still a large area of the southern Catskills, in Sullivan
and Ulster
counties, poorly served by the existing towers. Red Hill was chosen as the site for a new tower (supposedly after political pressure forced the state to reconsider Sullivan County's Denman Mountain to the south), and early in 1920 a forest ranger brought the disassembled tower up to the summit via horse-drawn wagon. A state crew cut a road through the Dibble farm up from nearby Red Hill Road, strung the telephone line along it, and put up the tower and cabin later that year.
s on the tower while they were in it, which slightly injured a few of them. Many of them kept busy during idle stretches by maintaining the road and telephone line, and hobbies such as woodcarving. They also entertained hikers and other visitors who came up the road from the Dibble farm. It was sometimes necessary for them to live off the land
, harvesting wild plants, particularly leek
s, and game
in the nearby woods, as the cabin had no electricity
. They drew their water from a spring at the base of a small cliff on the mountain's west slope, about 0.3 mile (500 m) from the tower via a short path.
In 1971 the state briefly closed the tower, but it was reopened the next year due to problems with communications in that region. The Dibbles sold their farm in the early 1980s, and the new owner was not as hospitable to hikers, closing it off to all but state access per its easement
. Shortly afterward it was closed, as the fire risk to the region had declined since the early 20th century due to the decline of the railroads and logging and the public's greater vigilance in reporting fires. But a renewed period of heavy fires led the state to reopen it in 1987. This time it remained in use until 1990, the last fire tower in the Catskills to be closed.
for what had by then become the state's Department of Environmental Conservation
(DEC) wrote in an early 1990s planning document that the aged, deteriorating tower should be dismantled and removed, not only due to its age but because, out of use, it was no longer permitted on state-owned Forest Preserve
land, which New York's constitution requires be kept forever wild. Worried residents of Denning and the nearby hamlet of Claryville contacted the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development
, a regional advocacy group, to see what they could do to save it, a development Profous had been hoping for. DEC's guidelines governing the use of the Forest Preserve do allow the retention of otherwise incompatible structures within it if they enhance the public's understanding of the Forest Preserve, and many visitors and past observers wrote about how seeing the vastness of the Catskill wildlands at once helped them appreciate the importance of protecting it.
Within a few years, the campaign had gotten all five remaining Catskill fire towers listed on the Forest Fire Lookout Association's Historic Lookout Register and later the NRHP. State grants
matched
by money raised through local efforts such as bake sale
s, dances, fundraising drives, raffling
of a quilt
and T-shirt sales raised enough money to begin restoring the tower and cabin in 1998. Volunteers from the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference extended the path from the tower to the spring into a trail
that would remain within state land down the mountain's never-logged northwestern slope to a new trailhead
, avoiding the closed road. When all these efforts were complete, in 2000, the Red Hill tower became the first of the restored Catskill fire towers to be reopened to the public.
that winds down around the mountain's northwest slope towards the East Branch of the Neversink River
. The trail follows yellow plastic markers
1.5 miles (2.4 km) and 890 vertical feet (271 m) up to the tower. Along the way are 10 numbered wooden signs corresponding to listings in an interpretive brochure
created by the Red Hill Fire Tower Committee, available at the trail register. They identify plant species found in the area of the markers, many common to Catskill forests.
At the summit, volunteer guides man the tower on weekends with good weather between late June and early October every year. There are guides available to bring visitors to the cab of the Firetower on holiday weekends, including Columbus Day The cab is equipped with paper cutouts identifying the mountains and other landmarks visible within the 50 miles (80.5 km) area of the tower on clear days. This 360-degree panorama
is dominated by Peekamoose
and Table
mountains, southernmost of the Catskill High Peaks
, and other features of the Slide Mountain Wilderness Area
to the north. To the southeast the view takes in the Shawangunk Ridge
and the Hudson Valley
beyond. It is possible to see the river
itself, as well as New Jersey
's highest mountain, High Point, when visibility
is at its maximum. The southwest horizon is in Northeastern Pennsylvania
's Poconos, the southern extension of the Catskills. Elk Mountain
, the highest in Pennsylvania outside of the Alleghenies
, can be seen.
The cabin is also open. It is used as an informal museum
of fire protection in the Catskills, with wall displays showing how that was accomplished and artifacts within the cabin showing how observers lived. The porch and picnic tables are available for use. Since the summit is below 3500 feet (1,066.8 m) in elevation, camping
is permitted year-round.
Fire lookout tower
A fire lookout tower, fire tower or lookout tower, provides housing and protection for a person known as a "fire lookout" whose duty it is to search for wildfires in the wilderness...
, cabin
Log cabin
A log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...
and pit privy
Outhouse
An outhouse is a small structure separate from a main building which often contained a simple toilet and may possibly also be used for housing animals and storage.- Terminology :...
located on the summit of Red Hill, a 2990 feet (911.4 m) Catskill Mountain
Catskill Mountains
The Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...
peak in Denning
Denning, New York
Denning is a town in Ulster County, New York, USA. The population was 516 at the 2000 census. The name come from an early landowner, William Denning.The Town of Denning is located in the western part of the county...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is the southernmost fire tower in the Catskill Park.
One of the last state towers built, in 1920, it filled a missing link in the Catskills' forest fire detection network. Except for a few brief periods of closure, observers
Fire lookout
A fire lookout is a person assigned the duty to look for fire from atop a building known as a fire lookout tower. These towers are used in remote areas, normally on mountain tops with high elevation and a good view of the surrounding terrain, to spot smoke caused by a wildfire.Once a possible fire...
working for the state conservation agencies
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is responsible for the conservation, improvement, and protection of natural resources within the U.S. state of New York. It was founded in 1970, replacing the previous Conservation Department...
manned the tower through 1990, making it the last fire tower closed in the Catskills. The abandoned tower and its views of the region remained a popular destination for local hikers
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
, and it was slated to be torn down in accordance with state policy prohibiting nonessential structures on Forest Preserve
Forest Preserve (New York)
New York's Forest Preserve is all the land owned by the state within the Adirondack and Catskill parks, managed by its Department of Environmental Conservation. These properties are required to be kept "forever wild" by Article 14 of the state constitution, and thus enjoy the highest degree of...
land. Preservationists
Historic preservation
Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...
and forest historians campaigned to save and restore
Building restoration
Building restoration describes a particular treatment approach and philosophy within the field of architectural conservation. According the U.S...
it and four other Catskill fire towers, and in the early 21st century they were listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
(NRHP). Red Hill's observer's cabin, included as part of the listing, is one of the oldest such buildings in New York.
A short trail was constructed to provide access to hikers, since the road used by the observers was later closed by the private landowner. Hikers continue to climb the peak and tower for its views of the Catskill High Peaks
Catskill High Peaks
The Catskill High Peaks are all of the mountains in New York's Catskill Mountains above 3,500 ft in elevation whose summits are separated either by one-half mile or a vertical drop of at least 250 ft between it and the next nearest separate summit...
to the north.
Property
The tower is a 60 feet (18.3 m) high steel frame Aermotor structure, anchored by boltsScrew
A screw, or bolt, is a type of fastener characterized by a helical ridge, known as an external thread or just thread, wrapped around a cylinder. Some screw threads are designed to mate with a complementary thread, known as an internal thread, often in the form of a nut or an object that has the...
into the exposed bedrock
Bedrock
In stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...
, with a glazed steel cab on top reached by an eight-flight staircase. It is located in a grassy clearing
Glade (geography)
A glade or clearing is an open area within a woodland. Glades are often grassy meadows under the canopy of deciduous trees such as red alder or quaking aspen in western North America. They also represent openings in forests where local conditions such as avalanches, poor soils, or fire damage have...
of roughly 500 square feet (46.5 m²), just east of the mountain's summit, along a narrow ridge. At the clearing's west end, the upper end of the trail and the mountain's true summit, is the rustic one-room cabin
Log cabin
A log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...
where observers lived during their shifts in the tower. Just to its north is a small wooden privy
Outhouse
An outhouse is a small structure separate from a main building which often contained a simple toilet and may possibly also be used for housing animals and storage.- Terminology :...
. Two picnic table
Picnic table
A picnic table is a modified table with attached benches, designed for eating a meal outdoors .-Uses:...
s are in the area between the cabin and the tower.
The cabin is a small, one-story, 14 by gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
-roofed frame building. It is sided with "brainstorm", edge board stained
Wood stain
A wood stain consists of a colorant suspended or dissolved in a 'vehicle' or solvent. The suspension agent can be water, alcohol, petroleum distillate, or the actual finishing agent...
reddish-brown. It has a mortared
Mortar (masonry)
Mortar is a workable paste used to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between them. The blocks may be stone, brick, cinder blocks, etc. Mortar becomes hard when it sets, resulting in a rigid aggregate structure. Modern mortars are typically made from a mixture of sand, a binder...
rubblestone foundation
Foundation (architecture)
A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
and a covered porch
Porch
A porch is external to the walls of the main building proper, but may be enclosed by screen, latticework, broad windows, or other light frame walls extending from the main structure.There are various styles of porches, all of which depend on the architectural tradition of its location...
on the south elevation, originally decked in wood but since replaced with concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
. Built in 1931, it is one of the oldest remaining observer's cabins in New York, a rare intact example of the earlier style used by the then-state Conservation Commission.
The tower and cabin are old enough to be considered contributing resources
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
to the NRHP listing. The privy and picnic tables were added later for the convenience of hikers, and are not contributing.
Construction
The biggest challenge to New York following the establishment of the Forest PreserveForest Preserve (New York)
New York's Forest Preserve is all the land owned by the state within the Adirondack and Catskill parks, managed by its Department of Environmental Conservation. These properties are required to be kept "forever wild" by Article 14 of the state constitution, and thus enjoy the highest degree of...
in 1885 had been fire control
Wildland fire suppression
Wildfire suppression refers to the firefighting tactics used to suppress wildfires. Firefighting efforts in wildland areas requires different techniques, equipment, and training from the more familiar structure fire fighting found in populated areas...
and prevention
Fire prevention
Fire Prevention is a function of many fire departments. The goal of fire prevention is to educate the public to take precautions to prevent fires, and be educated about surviving them. It is a proactive method of reducing emergencies and the damage caused by them. Many fire departments have a Fire...
. Illegal logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
operations often disposed of their remaining slash
Slash (logging)
Slash, or slashings, is a forestry term that refers to coarse and fine woody debris generated during logging operations or through wind, snow or other natural forest disturbances. Slash generated during logging operations may increase fire hazard and some North American states have passed laws...
by setting it on fire without remaining to make sure it burned out safely and sparks from the steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
s of the region's railroads also caused conflagrations.
In 1889 members of the Balsam Lake Club built the Catskills' first fire tower
Balsam Lake Mountain Fire Observation Station
The Balsam Lake Mountain Fire Observation Station is located at the summit of the mountain of that name in the Town of Hardenburgh, New York, United States...
on the summit of Balsam Lake Mountain
Balsam Lake Mountain
Balsam Lake Mountain is one of the Catskill Mountains, located in the Town of Hardenburgh, New York, United States. It is the westernmost of the range's 35 High Peaks...
; twenty years later, after the fires two drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
-plagued summers had taken a heavy toll on the forests, the state's Forest, Fish and Game Commission (FFGC) took it over as part of a new strategy, proven successful in Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
. of putting trained observers in strategically placed towers to spot the first traces of fire and report its location via dedicated telephone lines
Dedicated line
In computer networks and telecommunications, a dedicated line is a communications cable or other facility dedicated to a specific application, in contrast with a shared resource such as the telephone network or the Internet....
. The state built its first tower
Hunter Mountain Fire Tower
The Hunter Mountain Fire Tower is located on the summit of the eponymous mountain, second highest of the Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. It was the first of 23 fire lookout towers built by the state in the region, and the next-to-last of the five still standing to be...
on Greene County
Greene County, New York
Greene County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Its name is in honor of the American Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene. Its county seat is Catskill...
's highest peak, Hunter Mountain
Hunter Mountain (New York)
Hunter Mountain is in the towns of Hunter and Lexington, just south of the village of Hunter, in Greene County, New York, USA. At approximately 4,040 feet in elevation, it is the highest peak in the county and the second-highest peak in the Catskill Mountains.While the mountain is closely...
later in 1909, and within a decade there were several others throughout the range and in the nearby Shawangunks
Shawangunk Ridge
The Shawangunk Ridge , also known as the Shawangunk Mountains or The Gunks, is a ridge of bedrock in Ulster County, Sullivan County and Orange County in the state of New York, extending from the northernmost point of New Jersey to the Catskill Mountains.The ridgetop, which widens considerably at...
.
In 1919, the Conservation Commission, which the FFGC had become, found that there was still a large area of the southern Catskills, in Sullivan
Sullivan County, New York
Sullivan County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 77,547. The county seat is Monticello. The name is in honor of Major General John Sullivan, who was a hero in the American Revolutionary War...
and Ulster
Ulster County, New York
Ulster County is a county located in the state of New York, USA. It sits in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 182,493. Recent population estimates completed by the United States Census Bureau for the 12-month period ending July 1 are at...
counties, poorly served by the existing towers. Red Hill was chosen as the site for a new tower (supposedly after political pressure forced the state to reconsider Sullivan County's Denman Mountain to the south), and early in 1920 a forest ranger brought the disassembled tower up to the summit via horse-drawn wagon. A state crew cut a road through the Dibble farm up from nearby Red Hill Road, strung the telephone line along it, and put up the tower and cabin later that year.
Active use
The cabin was replaced with the current one in 1931. There were no other changes to the site during its years of use. Former observers spoke fondly of the job, whose only serious risk was lightning strikeLightning strike
Lightning strikes are electrical discharges caused by lightning, typically during thunderstorms.Humans can be hit by lightning directly when outdoors. Contrary to popular notion, there is no 'safe' location outdoors. People have been struck in sheds and makeshift shelters...
s on the tower while they were in it, which slightly injured a few of them. Many of them kept busy during idle stretches by maintaining the road and telephone line, and hobbies such as woodcarving. They also entertained hikers and other visitors who came up the road from the Dibble farm. It was sometimes necessary for them to live off the land
Woodcraft
Woodcraft is a recreational/educational program devised by Ernest Thompson Seton in 1902, for young people based on camping, outdoor skills and woodcrafts. Thompson Seton's Woodcraft ideas were incorporated into the early Scout movement, but also in many other organisations in many countries.In the...
, harvesting wild plants, particularly leek
Leek
The leek, Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum , also sometimes known as Allium porrum, is a vegetable which belongs, along with the onion and garlic, to family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Allioideae...
s, and game
Game (food)
Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport.The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or...
in the nearby woods, as the cabin had no electricity
Mains electricity
Mains is the general-purpose alternating current electric power supply. In the US, electric power is referred to by several names including household power, household electricity, powerline, domestic power, wall power, line power, AC power, city power, street power, and grid power...
. They drew their water from a spring at the base of a small cliff on the mountain's west slope, about 0.3 mile (500 m) from the tower via a short path.
In 1971 the state briefly closed the tower, but it was reopened the next year due to problems with communications in that region. The Dibbles sold their farm in the early 1980s, and the new owner was not as hospitable to hikers, closing it off to all but state access per its easement
Easement
An easement is a certain right to use the real property of another without possessing it.Easements are helpful for providing pathways across two or more pieces of property or allowing an individual to fish in a privately owned pond...
. Shortly afterward it was closed, as the fire risk to the region had declined since the early 20th century due to the decline of the railroads and logging and the public's greater vigilance in reporting fires. But a renewed period of heavy fires led the state to reopen it in 1987. This time it remained in use until 1990, the last fire tower in the Catskills to be closed.
Preservation and restoration
George Profous, a foresterForestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
for what had by then become the state's Department of Environmental Conservation
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is responsible for the conservation, improvement, and protection of natural resources within the U.S. state of New York. It was founded in 1970, replacing the previous Conservation Department...
(DEC) wrote in an early 1990s planning document that the aged, deteriorating tower should be dismantled and removed, not only due to its age but because, out of use, it was no longer permitted on state-owned Forest Preserve
Forest Preserve (New York)
New York's Forest Preserve is all the land owned by the state within the Adirondack and Catskill parks, managed by its Department of Environmental Conservation. These properties are required to be kept "forever wild" by Article 14 of the state constitution, and thus enjoy the highest degree of...
land, which New York's constitution requires be kept forever wild. Worried residents of Denning and the nearby hamlet of Claryville contacted the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development
Catskill Center for Conservation and Development
The Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, usually referred to as the Catskill Center, is a not-for-profit organization based in Arkville, New York, United States...
, a regional advocacy group, to see what they could do to save it, a development Profous had been hoping for. DEC's guidelines governing the use of the Forest Preserve do allow the retention of otherwise incompatible structures within it if they enhance the public's understanding of the Forest Preserve, and many visitors and past observers wrote about how seeing the vastness of the Catskill wildlands at once helped them appreciate the importance of protecting it.
Within a few years, the campaign had gotten all five remaining Catskill fire towers listed on the Forest Fire Lookout Association's Historic Lookout Register and later the NRHP. State grants
Grant (money)
Grants are funds disbursed by one party , often a Government Department, Corporation, Foundation or Trust, to a recipient, often a nonprofit entity, educational institution, business or an individual. In order to receive a grant, some form of "Grant Writing" often referred to as either a proposal...
matched
Matching donations
A matching gift, also known as a matching fund or matching donation is a charitable gift made toward a non-profit organization by a matching donor under the provision that an original donor first makes a gift toward that organization.-Typical procedure:As an example scenario, an employee of a...
by money raised through local efforts such as bake sale
Bake sale
A bake sale is a fundraising activity where baked goods such as doughnuts, cupcakes and cookies, sometimes along with ethnic foods, are sold. Bake sales are usually held by small, non-profit organizations, such as clubs, school groups and charitable organizations...
s, dances, fundraising drives, raffling
Raffle
A raffle is a competition in which people obtain numbered tickets, each ticket having the chance of winning a prize. At a set time, the winners are drawn from a container holding a copy of every number...
of a quilt
Quilt
A quilt is a type of bed cover, traditionally composed of three layers of fiber: a woven cloth top, a layer of batting or wadding and a woven back, combined using the technique of quilting. “Quilting” refers to the technique of joining at least two fabric layers by stitches or ties...
and T-shirt sales raised enough money to begin restoring the tower and cabin in 1998. Volunteers from the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference extended the path from the tower to the spring into a trail
Trail
A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...
that would remain within state land down the mountain's never-logged northwestern slope to a new trailhead
Trailhead
A trailhead is the point at which a trail begins, where the trail is often intended for hiking, biking, horseback riding, or off-road vehicles...
, avoiding the closed road. When all these efforts were complete, in 2000, the Red Hill tower became the first of the restored Catskill fire towers to be reopened to the public.
The tower today
The tower is located within a discontiguous parcel of the Sundown Wild Forest management unit. The old road still exists, but is now closed even to state use. Access is via the trail, which begins on Dinch Road, an old, rocky dirt roadDirt road
Dirt road is a common term for an unpaved road made from the native material of the land surface through which it passes, known to highway engineers as subgrade material. Dirt roads are suitable for vehicles; a narrower path for pedestrians, animals, and possibly small vehicles would be called a...
that winds down around the mountain's northwest slope towards the East Branch of the Neversink River
Neversink River
The Neversink River is a tributary of the Delaware River in southeastern New York in the United States...
. The trail follows yellow plastic markers
Trail blazing
Trail blazing, or trailblazing, is the practice of marking paths in outdoor recreational areas with blazes, markings that follow each other at certain — though not necessarily exactly defined — distances and mark the direction of the trail...
1.5 miles (2.4 km) and 890 vertical feet (271 m) up to the tower. Along the way are 10 numbered wooden signs corresponding to listings in an interpretive brochure
Brochure
A brochure is a type of leaflet. Brochures are most commonly found at places that tourists frequently visit, such as museums, major shops, and tourist information. Brochure racks or stands may suggest visits to amusement parks and other points of interest...
created by the Red Hill Fire Tower Committee, available at the trail register. They identify plant species found in the area of the markers, many common to Catskill forests.
Panorama
A panorama is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film/video, or a three-dimensional model....
is dominated by Peekamoose
Peekamoose Mountain
Peekamoose Mountain is a mountain located in Ulster County, New York.The mountain is part of the Catskill Mountains.Peekamoose Mountain is flanked to the north by Table Mountain....
and Table
Table Mountain (New York)
Table Mountain is a mountain located in Ulster County, New York.The mountain is part of the Catskill Mountains.Table Mountain is flanked to the south by Peekamoose Mountain, and to the northeast by Lone Mountain....
mountains, southernmost of the Catskill High Peaks
Catskill High Peaks
The Catskill High Peaks are all of the mountains in New York's Catskill Mountains above 3,500 ft in elevation whose summits are separated either by one-half mile or a vertical drop of at least 250 ft between it and the next nearest separate summit...
, and other features of the Slide Mountain Wilderness Area
Slide Mountain Wilderness Area
The Slide Mountain Wilderness Area is, at 47,500 acres , the largest tract of state-owned Forest Preserve in New York's Catskill Park, and the largest area under any kind of wilderness area protection between the Adirondacks and the southern Appalachians...
to the north. To the southeast the view takes in the Shawangunk Ridge
Shawangunk Ridge
The Shawangunk Ridge , also known as the Shawangunk Mountains or The Gunks, is a ridge of bedrock in Ulster County, Sullivan County and Orange County in the state of New York, extending from the northernmost point of New Jersey to the Catskill Mountains.The ridgetop, which widens considerably at...
and the Hudson Valley
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in New York State, United States, from northern Westchester County northward to the cities of Albany and Troy.-History:...
beyond. It is possible to see the river
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
itself, as well as New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
's highest mountain, High Point, when visibility
Visibility
In meteorology, visibility is a measure of the distance at which an object or light can be clearly discerned. It is reported within surface weather observations and METAR code either in meters or statute miles, depending upon the country. Visibility affects all forms of traffic: roads, sailing...
is at its maximum. The southwest horizon is in Northeastern Pennsylvania
Northeastern Pennsylvania
Northeastern Pennsylvania is a geographic region of Pennsylvania that includes the Pocono Mountains, the Endless Mountains and the industrial cities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Hazleton and Carbondale....
's Poconos, the southern extension of the Catskills. Elk Mountain
Elk Mountain Ski Area
Elk Mountain Ski Resort is set in the Endless Mountains, 30 miles north of Scranton PA. The mountain has been given favorable reviews from Ski Magazine, including a listing in "Six Unsung Heroes", a roundup of hidden gems in skiing.-History:...
, the highest in Pennsylvania outside of the Alleghenies
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...
, can be seen.
The cabin is also open. It is used as an informal museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
of fire protection in the Catskills, with wall displays showing how that was accomplished and artifacts within the cabin showing how observers lived. The porch and picnic tables are available for use. Since the summit is below 3500 feet (1,066.8 m) in elevation, camping
Camping
Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
is permitted year-round.
External links
- Red Hill Fire Tower, at the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development Website.
- Red Hill Fire Tower, at the Town of Denning website
- Red Hill Fire Tower at the Fire Towers of New York Site